Displaced by fire: Church accepting donations for Hinsdale family; Brattleboro residents to return to damaged house

By DOMENIC POLI / Reformer Staff

Posted:
04/24/2013 03:00:00 AM EDT

Updated:
04/24/2013 07:54:31 AM EDT

Wednesday April 24, 2013

HINSDALE, N.H. -- The First Congregational Church has already began to rally in support of two of its parishioners whose home was severely damaged in a fire this week.

Stephen and Deb Bordner, who did not have insurance, lived in a single-story house at 27 Plain Road until a one-alarm fire gutted the structure's interior on Monday. No one was injured but they were displaced and are now staying with family in Vermont, according to the Rev. Lee Momaney. He told the Reformer the church will accept donations of any sort for the Bordners. Someone must be present at the church in order to drop off donations.

"Right now, they have nothing," Momaney said of the Bordners.

Anyone interested in helping can contact Momaney at the church at 603-336-7020 or Alice Nadeau at 603-336-7001. The church address is: 36 Main St. Hinsdale, N.H., and the mailing address is PO Box 22.

Hinsdale Fire Chief Jay Matuszewski told the Reformer on Monday that his volunteer department was on the scene within five minutes of the call being placed, which he said was done by a neighbor around noon. Matuszewski said about 25 firefighters from the departments of Brattleboro (Vt.) and Northfield (Mass.) and Chesterfield responded to the scene.

He said Bordner's son, who shares a name with his father, was alone sleeping in the 20-foot-by-20-foot house when it caught fire. Matuszewski said the smell of smoke woke up the son.

Advertisement

The blaze was under control by about 1:30 p.m., Matuszewski said.

According to the fire chief, the fire's cause has not been determined.

An improperly discarded cigarette, however, has been determined as the cause of a two-alarm blaze in Brattleboro on Saturday. Brattleboro Fire Capt. Ron Hubbard there were no injuries in the fire, which was called in at 5:15 p.m., at 44 Clark St.

Hubbard said there was a fire in the attic space, resulting in significant damage to one section of the roof. He said eight people live in the house's three apartments, though only five were home at the time of the fire. The captain said all the residents are expected to return to their home later this week.

Hubbard said the fire was deemed under control by 5:43 and two of the five responding fire departments (Keene, N.H., and Greenfield, Mass.) were returned to their station shortly after their arrival.

Domenic Poli can be reached at dpoli@reformer.com, or 802-254-2311, ext. 277. You can follow him on Twitter @dpoli_reformer.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Click the login link below to sign in with or to set up a Disqus account or to access your social networking account. When you do, your comment should be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (What are the guidelines?.) Report abuse by flagging a comment (mouse over the comment). Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Brattleboro Reformer. So keep it civil.

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. Full Story

Sufjan Stevens, "Carrie & Lowell" (Asthmatic Kitty) Plucked strings and pulsing keyboards dominate the distinctive arrangements on Sufjan Stevens' latest album, and in the absence of a rhythm section, they serve to keep time. Full Story